Traditions of Christmas

"This is something that started back in the late 1960s," said Ellen Shuster, communications assistant for . "Back then it was a play following the three wise men. Thousands of people would come through and it was a huge production."

These days, Shuster says the celebrations are a "shadow of what once was," but they still are special. To kick off the weekend, an electric model train exhibit at 6 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Fireside Room will charm event-goers.

"A number of train enthusiasts in the congregation set it up," Shuster said. Her father, incidentally, is a railroad buff and heads up the current train exhibit at the Birmingham Historical Museum & Park. "Trains are  very nostalgic this time of year," Shuster said. "My dad, in fact, got his first train as a Christmas gift."

There will also be opportunities to pose in costume in a living nativity scene, and a one-act play called "The Little Lost Angel," at 7 p.m.      

The play will be repeated at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 11, and again on Sunday at 2 p.m.  Also, on Saturday from 1-6 p.m. and on Sun. from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., there will be crafts, cookie decorating, story telling, a talking snowman, and a crèche display.